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| - Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis: The World Health Organization warns the pandemic is "still accelerating". "We know that the pandemic is much more than a health crisis, it is an economic crisis, a social crisis and in many countries a political crisis. Its effects will be felt for decades to come," WHO's director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tells a virtual health forum. The WHO calls for a rapid increase in production of the steroid dexamethasone, after British clinical trials found it has life-saving potential for critically-ill coronavirus patients. "The next challenge is to increase production and rapidly and equitably distribute dexamethasone worldwide, focusing on where it is needed most," Ghebreyesus says. More than nine million people have now been infected with the coronavirus worldwide, of which more than half are in Europe and the United States. At least 9,017,016 cases had been recorded at 1900 GMT Monday of which 469,060 deaths, according to an AFP count based on official sources. The United States is the worst hit country with 120,106 deaths. It is followed by Brazil with 50,617 deaths, Britain with 42,647, Italy with 34,657 and France with 29,663 fatalities. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announces that three players have tested positive for coronavirus ahead of the team's tour of England next month. The news comes after Croatia's Borna Coric announces he has tested positive after playing in a tennis tournament featuring world number one Novak Djokovic. Five players from Serbian football club Red Star Belgrade also test positive after playing a derby match attended by 16,000 people. Saudi Arabia announces it will hold a "very limited" hajj this year owing to the coronavirus pandemic, with pilgrims already in the kingdom allowed to take part. Earlier this month, Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, was one of the first countries to withdraw from the pilgrimage, with Malaysia, Senegal and Singapore following suit. In Britain, which registered at 15 deaths its lowest daily toll since March 15, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce on Tuesday plans for pubs and restaurants reopening. Britain also announces eased restrictions for the 2.2 million people in England classed as clinically extremely vulnerable. Next year's Golden Globes will take place on February 28, an unusually late date for the glitzy film and television awards, which always give a foretaste of the also-delayed Oscars. Major concert promoter Live Nation also announces its first drive-in summer concert series to come after months of cancelled events due to the coronavirus pandemic. burs-ot-jmy/cdw
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